1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image forming method and system more particularly to a method and system for forming an image using as a photographic film or the like a photosensitive material which, after imagewise exposure to record an image thereon, is formed with an image by heating it with a prescribed processing material superimposed thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the method known as conventional color photography, a photographic color photosensitive material (color negative film) generally comprises a layer capable of recording blue light to form a yellow image, a layer capable of recording green light to form a magenta image and a layer capable of recording red light to form a cyan image. When such a material undergoes development processing, the developing agent is oxidized in the course of reducing the halide grains carrying the latent image to silver. The oxidized developing agent reacts with couplers (coupling reaction) to form dye images. The undeveloped silver halide and the developed silver are removed in a subsequent bleach-fix step. Dye images are thus formed and a color negative film removed of undeveloped silver halide and developed silver can be obtained.
Conventionally, light is transmitted through the dye images of the color negative film onto color paper. The dye images printed on the color paper in this manner are similarly developed and bleach-fixed to obtain a color print.
In another known method the image formed on the color negative film is read photoelectrically to obtain image data, the image data are subjected to image processing to obtain recording image data and the recording image data are used to form an image on another image recording material. This method has in particular promoted the development of the digital printer, which produces finished prints by scanning a photosensitive material such as color paper with a laser beam modulated by digital signals converted from the photoelectrically read image data. A digital printer of this type is taught, for example, by JP-A-(unexamined published Japanese patent application)7-15593.
Since the aforesaid image forming methods require the image-bearing color negative film to be subjected to ordinary development, bleach and fixation processes (wet processes), they involve complex processes for image formation.
Moreover, the prior-art methods use processing solutions and other solutions that contain chemicals. These are troublesome from the point of safety management and are liable to foul and hasten wear and tear of the equipment.